Website Must-Haves for a Successful Family Law Practice

Looking to increase your family law practice?

The landscape of legal services has evolved. You used to count on families to pick up the Yellow Pages when they were looking for a divorce lawyer or child custody attorney. But today, they start with Google.

Here’s the issue…

Most family law websites are outdated, slow, or lacking features clients actually need. As a result, they’re losing cases every day.

The good news?

Creating a website that turns visitors into clients is much easier than you think. With a few strategic elements in place, your family law practice can thrive in even the most competitive markets.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why Your Website is MORE Important Than Ever Before
• Must-Have Features Every Family Law Website Needs
• How to Get Website Visitors to CALL YOU
• Mistakes You Should NEVER Make

Why Your Website is MORE Important Than Ever Before

Family law is personal. Whether your clients need help with divorce, custody, or support, they need to trust you. Before they call your office, they’ll form a first impression of you online.

Recent legal marketing data shows that 96% of people seeking legal services use a search engine to begin their lawyer research. Nearly every family and friend searching for legal help will visit your website.

Let that sink in for a moment…

If your website looks outdated or unprofessional, visitors will immediately take their business somewhere else. They’ll choose to work with an Arkansas family lawyer or another family law attorney who’s got a website they like.

Your website is your 24/7 marketing assistant. If it’s not primed and ready to convert visitors, you’re leaving money on the table.

Must-Have Features Every Family Law Website Needs

While all websites should be clean and professional, certain features are critical for family law websites. If you want to attract and convert local family law clients, here are the elements you need to pay special attention to…

Mobile-Friendly Website Design

This is one area most attorneys miss…

Over 50% of your potential clients will visit your website using their mobile device. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll lose clients even before you have the chance to talk to them.

Mobile-friendly doesn’t just mean it looks OK on a phone. Your website must automatically adjust to any screen size (desktop, tablet, phone). Text should be large enough to read without zooming in. Buttons must be easy to click. Navigation should be simplified.

Google penalizes websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. Not only will you lose potential clients, but your website may not rank very well in search results either.

Easy to Find Contact Information

Hey, we get it. You want to show off your fancy degrees and awards. But your visitors care most about how they can contact you.

Your phone number should be visible on every page of your website. Include your email address and office location as well. Make it super easy for clients to connect with you.

Here’s a tip… for mobile users, include a click-to-call button. When they tap it, they’ll automatically be connected to your office. No more fussing with copying phone numbers or switching apps.

Individual Pages for Each Practice Area

Keep it simple. People don’t care about your family law “practice”. They have legal issues they want resolved.

You should have individual pages for each service you offer. You need a divorce page. You need a child custody page. You should also have pages for adoption, prenups, and child support.

When someone searches for “child custody lawyers”, they want to find a page about child custody. Address their problem. Explain how you can help. Discuss what they should expect from you.

Include plenty of client testimonials on your website. When unsure who to hire, people will look online to see what others say about your firm.

Website Loading Speed

If your website doesn’t load in 3 seconds or less, you need to fix it.

Mobile visitors are even less forgiving. If it doesn’t load instantly, they’ll assume you’re still using dial-up from the 90s and move on to your competition.

Speeding up your site can be simple. Compress images, use quality hosting, and eliminate unnecessary code. A faster website creates a better user experience and improves search rankings.

How to Get Website Visitors to CALL YOU

Driving traffic to your website is only part of the battle. You also need to convince those visitors to actually contact you.

Here’s what I mean…

Include a Call to Action on Every Page

Make sure every page on your site has a clear call to action. You want them to call you, right? Make sure buttons and links are obvious.

Don’t make your visitors guess what to do next. Use buttons that stand out. Use action-oriented language like “Schedule Your Free Consultation” or “Contact Us Today”.

Use Live Chat on Your Website

Live chat can be a huge help if you implement it correctly.

Many people would rather text their questions than pick up the phone. By providing live chat on your website, you allow them an easy way to get in touch with you.

If you can’t offer real-time chat, at least let visitors know when they can expect a call back using a chatbot. This allows you to capture basic lead info and set expectations. You won’t lose leads who may have otherwise given up and called someone else.

Respond Quickly to Inquiries

Timing is everything.

Research shows that almost 80% of legal consumers will take their business elsewhere if you don’t respond to their inquiry within 48 hours. That’s a significant number of families that will simply go hire another lawyer because you took too long to follow up.

Set up an autoresponder so they know you received their message. Then call or personally email them back ASAP. Response times of same-day lead to more retained clients.

Website Mistakes You Should NEVER Make

It’s easy to make website mistakes when you don’t know what you’re doing. But the fixes are fairly easy too. Here are the worst mistakes you should avoid…

Not Using an SSL Certificate

That lock icon in your browser? It’s important.

When your website doesn’t have HTTPS it will show visitors a “Not Secure” warning. That one little message is enough to make people run away from your website.

Stock photos

Who wants to hire a law firm that uses stock photos? Not anyone.

Instead of trying to save a few bucks, use real photos of your attorneys and office. Become a real person your visitors can trust.

Long paragraphs of text

Nobody reads blocks of text on the internet.

Use headers and bullet points. Break up large paragraphs with images and add whitespace. If you want people to read your content, make it easy for them.

Ignoring Local SEO

While family law matters can happen statewide, most happen locally.

Make sure your website targets your local area so families can find you. Don’t worry about ranking outside of your service area.

Not having a blog or resources page

You want to show potential clients you’re an expert in family law, right?

Creating helpful blog content is a great way to show off your knowledge. Lawyer blogs can also help you rank for keywords your clients are searching. Once a month? Done! Even a little content is better than nothing at all.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, your website makes or breaks your family law practice’s ability to gain new clients online.

To sum up, here are the elements every family law website needs:

• Mobile-friendly website that looks great on all devices
• Easy to find contact information on every page
• Dedicated pages for each of your practice areas
• Plenty of great client reviews
• Fast website loading speed

From there, you’ll need to convince those visitors to contact you. Include a clear call to action on every page, offer live chat, and respond quickly to inquiries. Steer clear of website blunders like no SSL, stock photos, and lack of content.

Your local family law market is competitive. You can’t afford a weak website if you want to be visible online. Start with one thing at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have a website that will set you up to capture more leads and more cases.